Retribution Road Jon Coon (best android ereader TXT) 📖

going along. You’ll need safety and support divers. Maybe I can be a safety diver, or for sure your medical support if something goes wrong.”

Gabe’s first inclination was to just say no. There would be a recompression chamber and a full medical team on board the dive boat. But if she wanted to be a partner, this would be a good place to start. If he could sell her inclusion to the Navy, why not? And it would give them time together they hadn’t had in several weeks.

“Okay, but you may have to pass the Navy’s requirements. They can’t be looking after both of us, and you’re not critical to the mission.”

“I’m always critical to the mission. And don’t you forget it.”

“Yes, ma’am! I will not forget that again, ever, under any circumstances, even if tortured and my life threatened.”

“That’s better.” She laughed and hugged him. “I want to go. I want time with you. I promise to try not to be a distraction, but I want to be there if you need me.”

“To try not to be a distraction?”

“Well, at least a little bit.”

Paul and Angelica helped groom the horses. It had become part of their and Emily’s daily routine. The horses were calmed by the attention and responded well to the washing and brushing. Paul had never realized the affection horses could show and how much personality some had.

As they worked the quarter horse named Comanche, he frequently turned to look at them, and if they were close enough, he’d put his head on their shoulders. When they stopped grooming and released the tethers, Comanche followed, putting his head in the middle of Angelica’s back and gently pushing her, usually toward Paul. When they sat, Comanche encouraged her with little nudges to scratch his neck and back. They sat, Comanche nudged, Angelica scratched, and they talked.

“What happens when we leave here?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, are we still going to be together?”

“I hope so. Isn’t that what you want?”

“It is, but getting my nursing license here isn’t going to be easy. I may have to go back to school for a year or more. And you … you need to make plans for your future. You can’t just be hanging around waiting for me. What are you going to do?”

“I’m not sure. But as long as you’re here, I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m older than you, you know. Is that going to be a problem?”

“I don’t think so. You’re not like old and gray or anything … Why all these questions?”

“For the first time in my life I feel free to have the future I want. Not the future the Zapatistas or the cartel force me into. In case I never get a chance like this again, I want to make sure I don’t blow this. I want my life to count for something.”

“Okay.”

“If we’re going to stay together, I want your life to count for something too. That means you have to have a plan. You have to be willing to commit to something and follow it through. So what’s that going to be?”

“Can I have some time to think about it? When we were back in the jungle, all I thought about was getting out of there alive. Getting out of there alive with you.”

“Okay, but we can’t go forward until you know where you’re going, got it?”

There was a teasing smile in her eyes, tempting him, inviting him. And that smile, with those perfect teeth, was impossible to resist.

While her new best friend, Diamond Jack, healed, Emily looked for a horse that would be hers. She swung up into the saddle of a registered quarter horse mare. A paint with a facial blaze and four white stockings named Zonta, a Lakota name meaning “trustworthy.” Nimble and able to stop on a dime and give change, the two-year-old was smart and had bonded with Emily in a few short days.

Zonta called to Emily from the paddock and ran to be with her when Emily came through the gate. She wanted to please, and with Carol’s expert coaching, they were both learning to master the turns around the three barrels and dash back for the finish. Zonta loved to run and had explosive speed. At first, that left Emily hanging on for dear life. But Emily was amazed that when she lost her balance and was in danger of falling off, Zonta slowed until she was once again secure in the saddle. It was a breakthrough of trust for Emily, knowing that her partner was aware of her and wasn’t about to throw her off or let her fall.

That afternoon, grooming was more focused and intentional than ever. Extra carrots and hugs with plenty of ear scratching and back currying. When Emily finished, Zonta followed her out to the paddock where Carol was waiting with the demolished truck and a tailgate lunch.

“What was my best time?” Emily asked. Zonta placed her head on Emily’s shoulder and nuzzled for another carrot.

“Seventeen-point-eight seconds. Not bad. But if you want to win, it will take less than seventeen, so you still have a ways to go. But you can do it. Zonta’s got the heart. I think she’s just waiting on you to get more comfortable before she really shows her fire. She’s good. Very, very good.”

“Like Diamond Jack?”

“Could be. We’ll just have to wait and see. You’re both just getting started.”

“Do you think Grandpa’s going to rebuild? You said he sold the ranch. What’s going to happen now?”

“I don’t think he knows yet, honey, but don’t worry. We can take Zonta home with us. Our little barn will be just fine for her.”

“And what about Gabe? Will our house ever be ‘just fine’ for him too?”

“I’m working on that, honey. I promise. I’m working on that.”

That night, as Gabe tossed and turned on the cot in his small room in the bunker, his nightmares returned. He was trapped in the yellow school